Report: Personal bankruptcies still up but slowing

The Southwest and Southeast led the nation in filings with Nevada recording 15,000 filings per million, more than double the 6,600 filings per million recorded nationwide.

“The Nevada figure is high, but shouldn’t come as a surprise given that Nevada has the nation’s highest rates for unemployment and credit card and mortgage delinquency,” Mann said.

Nevada also has been hit hard by the nation’s housing crisis. 

After Nevada, Georgia and Tennessee had the highest filing rates, each with more than 10,000 filings per million, according to the report.

Still, despite an overall brighter picture, some states had sharp filing increases last year, even compared with the elevated filing rates of 2009. 

Hawaii experienced a 29 percent jump compared to 2009, while the rates in Arizona, California and Utah each spiked 24 percent. 

Along with Nevada, Arizona and California were hit the hardest when the housing market collapsed creating record numbers of foreclosures. 

In contrast, the Southeast, which also had a sharp increase in bankruptcies during the recession, saw a decline in filings in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and North Carolina.

“The Southeast is recovering rapidly, while the Southwest is falling into further distress,” Mann said.

The states with the lowest filing rates are, Alaska, the District of Columbia, South Carolina, Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Vermont.